


Breaking Me Down Like This

by WednesdaysDaughter



Series: Take A Hold of You [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions, POV Second Person, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9488600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WednesdaysDaughter/pseuds/WednesdaysDaughter
Summary: “I can’t believe she’s still alive,” Fahrenheit muses with a quick drag of her cigarette and you shrug – not wanting to give too much away.“Thirty caps she doesn’t last a month even with the bot watching her back.”Normally you’d agree, but when you glance down she’s looking up at you and you smirk.“Fifty says you’re wrong.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I started a new game recently and my OC Akiko is such a badass I'm smitten. She's my second female sole survivor and she deserves her own series separate from Alanna. Of course, my first fic has to be her and Hancock, but boy do I have plans for her and the other companions!

The first time you see her she’s dabbing blood from her top lip and decked in blue.

The dog stays close to her side, sizing up your dark little town with its hackles raised and teeth bared. It’s Finns voice that breaks your stare and you’re sure the look on your face rivals the snarl on the dogs.

Not this shit again.

You wonder if she’ll give in to his threats, but she gives as good as she gets and hurls a promise of violence carelessly at Finn’s feet and you grin. Blood trickles down her chin and her tongue darts out to trace her lips and there’s a lump in your throat.

Finn takes a step and her muscles tense and you step in.

A knife to the gut was not originally in the plans, but Finn was disrespectful and you can feel Daisy’s eyes on you. Fahrenheit is close by and she’d never forgive you if you’d let the insolent bastard live so you wipe the blood from your knife and fix the newcomer with a sly smile.

“You alright sister?”

She sizes you up and for a second you’re afraid you’ll be found lacking in her brown eyes, but she eases back a little and when her dog follows suit she responds.

“Yeah, I appreciate the help.”

The ‘I could’ve handled it’ goes unsaid, but you catch on pretty quick.

“My pleasure: Dissention in the ranks is bad for business so really your presence did me a favor.”

She’s amused and tries to hide it behind her hand that adjusts her glasses. You push forward, ever the welcoming host.

“Goodneighbor’s of the people for the people you feel me? Everyone’s welcome.”

A quirk of her brow conveys her disbelief at your words – you can hear the ‘are you kidding me?’ without her mouth moving, but she surprises you again.

“I feel you; it’s nice to find a place where I can relax.”

You want to warn her against it of course. She’s as green as the fungus growing in the back alleys, but something about her face says she can handle herself. Fahrenheit coughs behind you and it is back to business even though you want to get to know this stranger more.

With a parting “As long as you remember who’s in charge,” tossed over your shoulder you walk away from the woman and her dog and you swear you hear twin snorts of amusement.

 You don’t expect to see her again, but then life always did have a way of not following the rules.

\- - - - - - - - - -

The second time you see her, the cut on her lip has scared and her armor is speckled with blood.

Nick’s with her this time and the dog’s wearing a red bandana around its neck. Her glasses catch the glint coming off of KL-E-0’s sign and you watch from the shadows as she stocks her bag with shotgun shells and grenades. The Vault suit is long gone and her new outfit is obviously tailored for a man, but it suits her all the same.

They head for the Memory Den and you resist the urge to peek in and see what’s what. Valentine normally avoids Goodneighbor unless he’s on a case and you’re certain that whatever he’s gotten mixed up in is a lot bigger than your standard runaway.

You’re smoking on the balcony when they finally exit the Den and even from up high you can see how pale she is and the strain locked in her lithe frame. She seems to be on the edge of something and her hands fidget like yours after you haven’t taken a hit of Jet in too long. Nick reaches out and lays a hand on her shoulder and for a second you think she’ll whip around and punch him, but she deflates.

God this woman doesn’t do anything you expect and it’s driving you a little crazy.

“I can’t believe she’s still alive,” Fahrenheit muses with a quick drag of her cigarette and you shrug – not wanting to give too much away.

“Thirty caps she doesn’t last a month even with the bot watching her back.”

Normally you’d agree, but when you glance down she’s looking up at you and you smirk.

“Fifty says you’re wrong.”

\- - - - - - - - - -

“So, how is Bobby’s little patsy doing?”

People say the ‘third time’s the charm’ and you’re not one to argue with the people: Or maybe you’re the first one, but you’ll let it go for now.

June – you got her name from Daisy – grits her teeth before apologizing. You can tell it’s part respect, part wounded pride and you throw her a bone. You don’t really care for the deprecating flush dusting her pale cheeks.

“Don’t worry about it sister. You came down on the right side and that’s what matters.”

“Still…” she sighs, “I don’t like causing trouble, especially when you knifed a guy for me when we first met: Kinda shitty for me to go stealing from you.”

You laugh and her smile looks less forced and more at ease. ‘ _That’s it_ ’ you think, ‘ _That’s what I want to see_.’

An idea strikes you like a rabid Yao guai and you’re running with it before you can think it through.

“Truth is I’ve been getting complacent in this place. I’ve forgotten what it’s like out there you know? I need to sharpen the ole killer instinct – get out from under this shadow of Mayor and just remember what it is to be Hancock.”

She watches you carefully as if making sure she understands what you’re getting at and when she cocks her hip and gives you an offer you’re not gonna refuse you know she understands.

“How about you travel with me?”

People say the ‘third time’s the charm’ and apparently she does too.

\- - - - - - - - - -

June is unlike any woman you’ve ever met and it throws you off your game.

You’re popping more Mentats in a day that you ever have before just to keep up with her whirlwind mind. She has a grasp on everything from baking to war and she laughs at your dumb jokes with sincerity after a few weeks into your travels.

She didn’t hide her suspicions of your intent and you found yourself proud of her wariness. It’s not until she tells you about Vault 111 that you realize it’s been almost a month and she sleeps deeply when you take point. There’s a hesitance to her story and you know there’s something she’s not saying, but it’s not your place to push and the fact she even tells you about life before the war speaks volumes at how far you’ve come.

You earn her trust slowly and carefully, but it doesn’t take you share one miserable tale after another until you’re seconds from spilling your guts all over her new Silver Shroud costume. You’re creeping along a dark hallway ready to tackle Smiling Kate: You’ve warned her about Sinjin – she knows the bloodthirsty bastard means business, but she just shrugged and said she wasn’t worried.

“I have you watching my back – what could go wrong?”

Her eyes were light and the teasing lit of her voice slammed into your gut and nearly brought you to your knees. It’s no surprise what comes out of your mouth the next day as she crouches low in the doorway just feet from the body of a raider she shot.

“Hey, you got a sec? I need you to hear something.”

It’s terrible timing and you half expect her to shake you off.

The concern on her face pulls at your heartstrings as she lowers her gun, “Is everything alright?”  

You assure her quickly and then pause as the words try to assemble themselves in the mess that is your drug-addled brain. The honesty falls from your ruined mouth until you’re tempted to run – again – and never stop because her gaze strips you of all your defenses.

“I’ve been running out on the good things I got.”

“I took up with you just to get outta Goodneighbor: Hell, running’s what turned me into a damn ghoul.”

She opens her mouth as if to say something, but you push forward cause she’s suddenly tense and it unsettles you.

“Being here with you… for the first time in my life things feel right and running is the furthest thing from my mind.”

You’ve never been one to believe in fate, but as the sunlight peers through the crack in the roof and lights up June’s face you’re suddenly sure she was always going to walk into your life. You’re certain that you’d follow her anywhere.

“I thought that I’d done something I could hang my hat on, you know? Making Goodneighbor what it is now. But apparently I’d been thinking small time and it took traveling with you to realize that maybe all that running I’d done wasn’t such a bad thing after all.”

There, you’ve said it: Got nothing left in your dry mouth and your fingers itch for an inhaler cause she’s looking at you as if she’s seeing you for the first time. When she finally responds her voice is soft – a kindness you weren’t looking for and never thought you deserved.

“You may have run, but it was always for a reason – not you just skipping out cause you could.”

You’re probably still high, but it looks like there’s admiration in her brown eyes coupled with something that’s making your pulse go haywire.

“Coming from you Sunshine… hell I can’t begin to tell you what that means. Throwing in with you has been the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“It’s like I found a part of myself I never realized I was missing… which tends to happen when you’re a ghoul,” you joke just to see that smile unfurl across her lips. She doesn’t disappoint and you’re nearly drowning in the fond look she stuns you with.

You can’t expect anything else from her: You don’t really deserve it so you swallow your confession and try to play it cool.

“You have been one hell of a friend.”

You’ll take what you can get and dammit if just being around her doesn’t feel like flying. To say you’re not expecting her response is an understatement and it knocks the breath from your lungs as you try not to show it.

“Have you ever thought of us as more than friends?”

She’s uncertain, but brave in a way you could never be. She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth quickly and shifts from one foot to the other as she pins you with a hopeful stare and that’s just not fair. Uncertainty doesn’t sit well on her steady shoulders.

You try and play it off; guts spilling from your fingers as they rest across your abdomen in the picture of nonchalance.

“That obvious huh? Honestly June you don’t want to wake up to this mug every morning.” It stings, but you push forward because she deserves that much, “I’d never wish that on anyone I cared for.”

That was clearly the wrong thing to say because there’s fire in her eyes and she’s hissing between her teeth because you’re still in the middle of raider territory.

“You’re just the way I like you! Screw anyone who makes you feel ashamed and then point me in their direction – I’ll set them straight.”

You’re torn between laughing and crying so you smirk and try to shake it off until she continues and suddenly it’s serious again.

“I’ve never been in the business of letting people tell me how to feel so nothing you’re gonna say will change my mind. I love you John.”

Has it been this quite the whole time?

Your heart is pounding in your ears and something inside you relaxes for the first time since you ran from Diamond City. You’re gonna let yourself have this – just this once you’re gonna stop fighting with the demon in your mind and give in.

“Moments like this, I know all that karma stuff is bullshit. No one like me should be this lucky, but I’m not gonna question it anymore.”

There’s more you want to say, but a raider cuts it off with a spatter of bullets colliding into the wall to your left – just missing your shoulder. June whips around and places two shots in the raider’s chest and you table the conversation. Smiling Kate isn’t expecting two of you so she goes down quicker than you’re happy with, but that just leaves one more patsy and maybe things will settle down a little.

Of course, that plan’s shot to hell when Kent’s kidnapped and you watch June’s back as she is merciless – relentless in her rage as raider after raider falls at her feet. You get chills when she scares people off as the Silver Shroud and when Sinjin’s body topples down the stairs you watch her strip him of all his possessions before checking on Kent who’s shaking like a leaf.

You three split up and you’re halfway down the street when she pauses and turns to face you.

“There are some things I need to tell you.”

You settle into a Red Rocket nearby and she follows suit spilling her guts until you’re torn between wrapping her in your arms and hunting down every synth until the Institute is defenseless.

“No wonder you and Nicky were hitting up The Memory Den – I know Dr. Amari helps runaways occasionally.”

June nods absently and you reach out to take her shaking hand, “Look June this doesn’t change anything…”

“Akiko,” she interrupts and you flounder for a second.

“That’s my real name. I didn’t… it felt like she died in the Vault with Nate, but you make me feel like she was just sleeping. I want you to know my name.”

It feels more real than her confession days ago and you don’t hesitate to take the pieces she’s given you and lock them away in your withered heart that pounds away. You pull her to her feet and reach out to adjust her glasses briefly before bringing her hand to your lips.

“Come on love. Let’s get this freakshow on the road.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm such a dialogue whore and 2nd person POV is my latest obsession. I know it can be jarring if not well done, so I hope i pulled it off.
> 
> I plan on writing fics centered on her relationship with Nick and Deacon for sure, but they might not be 2nd person. It just depends on how I'm feeling. I'm also going to write more for my first OC Alanna here in a bit.


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